Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of push pins in general and in particular to a push pin having an intermediate helical anchoring section.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,897,007; 5,018,697; 5,370,487; and 6,042,078, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse push pin and other anchoring or suspended support structures.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical push pin construction that is specifically designed for use with cubicle walls by virtue of an anchoring section formed on an intermediate section of the push pin shaft.
As anyone who has attempted to pin notices on a cubicle wall is all too well aware, the construction of conventional padded cubicle walls is not particularly receptive to providing a firm grasp on a straight shafted push pin, particularly when the push pin is intended to support multiple sheets of paper in the form of notices, spread sheets, or the like.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need among office workers for a new and improved push pin construction that employs an intermediate anchor section along the length of the push pin shaft wherein the anchor section firmly engages the fabric covered exterior of a cubicle wall, and the provision of such a construction is the stated objective of the present invention.
Briefly stated, the push pin construction that forms the basis of the present invention comprises, in general, a shaft unit having an intermediate section and an enlarged head unit.
As will be explained in greater detail further on in the specification, the shaft unit includes an elongated shaft member having a pointed outboard end which is aligned with a blunt inboard end and having a helical anchor section formed intermediate the ends plus a flattened flange formed between the helical anchor section and the blunt inboard end for affixing the shaft unit to the enlarged head unit.
In addition, the head unit comprises an elongated enlarged head member that captively surrounds the flattened flange and blunt inboard end of the shaft member and includes a distal end having an outwardly projecting lip, a contoured intermediate portion and proximal end having an outwardly projecting tab for twisting the helical anchor section into engagement with a cubicle wall after the pointed end of the shaft member has penetrated the cubicle wall, wherein the tab is further provided with an aperture for suspending diverse articles from the push pin construction.